Student lending companies in many cases have access to a vast database of student information - the National Student Loan Data System, which was created in 1993 and houses data on some 60 million of young borrowers.

The data includes social security numbers, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, birth dates and loan balances. Theoretically this database is safe behind the wall of government security and privacy law protections.

The reality is somewhat less comforting...and a congressional investigation may be in the cards.

Read all about it at The Washington Post.

-- MDT

Labels: data, data breach, data brokerbase, student loans